We’ll see just what Trent knows soon enough.
Thank goodness for Robert Griffin III. The guy who says all the right things seems pretty intent on going to the next level and actually doing the right things as well. Griffin and his representation apparently decided enough time had passed and they were going to get a deal done out of order and ahead of first pick Andrew Luck of the Colts. As was posted earlier, Griffin got a 4-year deal, all guaranteed for $21.1 million including almost $14 million in signing bonus.
Is he just trying to make Browns fans further lament the fact that Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert didn’t get the deal done when they seemingly had more bullets in their gun-battle with the Redskins?
The Browns’ own selection, Trent Richardson has said all the right things too, to be fair. It was pretty reasonable for him to try and see what the other top picks were going to get done at the bargaining table as long as it isn’t keeping him out of camp. To date, the fact that Richardson doesn’t have a deal done hasn’t kept him away from anything, so we’re still all good in that department. Now that Griffin has signed, the pressure should be on.
In May, I went ahead and showed everyone pretty much what Trent Richardson’s deal ought to look like. Given the new rules, it’s pretty easy to look at previous years’ contracts and project nominal increases. Pretty much every pick as high as Griffin and Richardson gets their rookie contract for four years and fully guaranteed. So, how did Griffin do compared to last year’s number two overall pick Von Miller?
Here’s what I think Von Miller’s deal looked like.
| Von Miller | |||
| Salaries | Signing Bonus | Cap Number | |
| 2011 | $390,000 | $3,425,000 | $3,815,000 |
| 2012 | $1,329,563 | $3,425,000 | $4,754,563 |
| 2013 | $2,284,125 | $3,425,000 | $5,709,125 |
| 2014 | $3,238,688 | $3,425,000 | $6,663,688 |
| Total | $7,242,376 | $13,700,000 | $20,942,376 |
Robert Griffin III’s new deal looks something like this.
| Robert Griffin III | |||
| Salaries | Signing Bonus | Cap Number | |
| 2012 | $390,000 | $3,449,836 | $3,839,836 |
| 2013 | $1,340,000 | $3,449,836 | $4,789,836 |
| 2014 | $2,300,000 | $3,449,836 | $5,749,836 |
| 2015 | $3,260,000 | $3,449,836 | $6,709,836 |
| Total | $7,290,000 | $13,799,344 | $21,089,344 |
So the difference, in my estimation is less than 1% or 0.7% increase based on my estimation. Again, this brings us back to Trent Richardson. As I said in May, this is what last year’s third overall pick Marcell Dareus signed for.
| Marcell Dareus | 3rd Pick | ||
| Salaries | Signing Bonus | Cap Number | |
| 2011 | $376,371 | $3,335,000 | $3,711,371 |
| 2012 | $1,302,605 | $3,335,000 | $4,637,605 |
| 2013 | $2,230,210 | $3,335,000 | $5,565,210 |
| 2014 | $3,157,814 | $3,335,000 | $6,492,814 |
| Total | $7,067,000 | $13,340,000 | $20,407,000 |
Assuming that Trent Richardson is going to get a slight increase, his deal will be some measure higher. Simultaneously, unless something really outlandish happens, Richardson will not be able to exceed what RG3 got. If Richardson got exactly what RG3 got that would represent a 3.3% increase (about $680,000) over Marcell Dareus. If Richardson gets a 1% increase over Dareus, we’re talking about just over $200,000.
For all practical purposes, you have to think that any haggling between the Browns and Richardson now would be over $200,000… Over a four year deal…
Let’s just say that if Trent Richardson misses a minute of camp over $50,000 a year on an NFL contract, I will be absolutely confused and probably livid.
Now Brandon Weeden on the other hand… Well, we’ll get into that one another day.
